Shift of Power
by Emerald Elves
Summary: Post OOTP. Harry must come to terms with the new power he develops and the paths new and old friends take but first, he must find his way home. New revelations are made and the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher has a secret. R
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: i don't own harry potter...if i did this would be in book format

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Chapter 1 

An eerie silence settled over Number 4 Privet Drive. A cloudless sky exposed the brilliance of the full moon and the countless number of stars surrounding it, as Harry Potter stood facing his cousin Dudley Dursley, his hate for Dudley evident in his eyes.

This summer at the Dursley's had been a bit different the last. He was mainly left alone except for the few times a day Aunt Petunia had him do some chores. Most nights he spent walking the streets of Little Whining, constantly remembering the horrible night at the Department of Mysteries. He was rarely annoyed by Dudley and his friends, but there did happen to be those few times where he was at the sharp end of their torment. During those times Harry would just sink into himself and pretend nothing was happening.

Sinking into himself did not help Harry at all, however, because Piers Poltkiss, Dudley's best friend, a large chubby sandy blond haired guy believed the reason for Harry's calmness was due to the fact that he'd been mentally damaged at St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurable Criminal Boys, and he would beat him harder. After these torments, Harry usually found his face forcefully connected to Uncle Vernon's fist and his ears being blown out from him yelling, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO PISS DUDLEY AND HIS FRIENDS OFF AGAIN?"

By the end of it, Harry would lie in his bed, unable to sleep due to his harsh injuries. His sheets and pillow were crusted with blood from his previous beatings, his aunt unwilling to clean them, thinking him 'unworthy'. These nights also brought back memories of the Department of Mysteries because he was at his most vulnerable moment. Over and over again he saw Sirius falling through the Veil. This always pained him, and at first, he felt guilt and believed he was the cause of Sirius' death. He still does, but now all he feels is a deep anger towards all those whom kept valuable information from him that cost him Sirius' life.

Earlier that evening, Harry had been pacing his room, contemplating the Prophecy and trying to figure out a way to stop Voldemort without getting himself killed in the process, when he was called down to get the door open. Aunt Marge was coming to day and would be visiting for the week. Harry was the exact opposite of overly thrilled.

Enduring the usual comments about his hair and parents during supper, Harry had been heading back to his room when Dudley decided to follow him.

Harry turned around, "What do you want?"

"To thank you for saving my ass last year," he said sincerely.

"After you and your friends have kicked mine a bunch of times already? A nice way of showing you greatfullness. Your not welcome," Harry said coldly.

"I never laid a hand on you!"

"And yet you never stopped your friends," Harry snapped. "You care too much about your status with them that you don't give a damn about anyone else. You've beaten up so many neighborhood kids it just comes naturally to you now and there's no room for sympathy."

Dudley looked at him with malice, "shut up Potter, you know nothing."

Harry gave a hollow laugh. "I've watched you bead up kids half your age! You're heartless!" he yelled.

Dudley had no time for a retort. Uncle Vernon came storming through the kitchen door, his face purple with rage. He walked up to them, pushed Dudley aside and threw a punch at Harry's face. This time, however, Harry was too angry to willing take any hits. He nimbly moved aside as Vernon's fist made a hole in the wall. From the kitchen door Aunt Petunia gasped Uncle Vernon yanked his fist out of the wall and turned to face Harry. His fist was cut along the knuckles and bleeding profoundly. He smiled, for this time Harry had no way to escape because he was in a corner.

Realizing his unfortunate situation, Harry desperately looked around for a way to escape. He was unable to figure out a plan because Uncle Vernon's fist collided with his face. _Shit!_

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Number 12 Grimauld Place stood unseen by al but those whom were allowed to see it. Muggles passed by taking no notice of the foreboding wizard house. To a member of the Order of the Phoenix about to enter all seemed peaceful on the outside, but really, the place was in an uproar. 

Headmaster of Hogwarts School Witchcraft and Wizardry Albus Dumbledore stood in the front hallway listening as Molly Weasley yell, over the screams of Mrs. Black, at him about the welfare of one Harry Potter. Fred and George Weasley were desperately trying to close moss eaten over the life size portrait of Mrs. Black but to no avail.

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were engaged in a fierce argument about he house elf Kreature and treating him nicely. The house elf in question was chasing Hermione's cat Crookshanks around with a wooden stick because Crookshanks had attacked him.

This is the kayos that Tonks and Sephira Black walked into. To say they were surprised would be an understatement. They were shocked. Tonks closed the door and stood, staring at he group of people yelling at each other.

Tonks' companion wore black jeans, a black shirt with a snake on it partly covered by her black jean jacket. Sephira's shoulder length black hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, her dark eyes rapidly scanning the many problems going on, resting at the Weasley twins as they tried to shut Mrs. Black up.

Walking swiftly to them she pushed aside the closest twin and slammed her fist into the painting. That startled Mrs. Black enough that she stopped yelling and Sephira and the other Weasley twin were able to pull the curtains shut. Both Weasley twins looked at her in astonishment.

On one else seemed to notice Mrs. Black was quiet and they still kept on with their arguments. Wanting a little peace and quiet Sephira yelled at the top of her lungs, "SHUT UP!"

Everyone fell silent and looked at her strangely. No one but Dumbledore and Tonks knew her and were interested in who she was.

Arthur Weasley, who had avoided the scream-fest by hiding out in the kitchen with his oldest son Bill, came into the hall, having heard Sephira yell. He looked quizzically at her as though she looked like someone he knew.

A heavy silence fell over everyone, broken only by the heavy breathing of some. After about five minutes, Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"I believe we should all head to the kitchen and discuss the many problems going on." There was a twinkle in his eye Sephira didn't like much.

Mrs. Weasley let out a sigh of frustration and walked angrily away. Everyone followed, Hermione and Ron glaring at each other. Crookshanks, who had stopped fleeing from Kreature when Sephira had yelled, hadn't yet noticed Kreature standing over him, stick raised, ready to strike.

Sephira saw this, "leave the cat alone Kreature."

Crookshanks bolted and Kreature looked at Sephira quizzically. "I take orders from no one."

Frowning at him, Sephira said nothing and walked past. She was given queer lookes ny the Weasley twins but she ignored them.

In the kitchen Sephira sat as far away from everyone else a best as she could without looking like she was trying to avoid them. To her there were too many people from the same family, all with flaming red hair. She hated the colour red.

She truthfully didn't want to talk or discuss anything except getting herself out of the House of Black. She may be a Black, but the house brought back the few precious memories of her Uncle Sirius. Another family member of her's gone.

Everyone sat down, another red head, a girl, came in a sat beside the brown haired girl who explained everything to her. The red haired girl stared wide eyed at her for a moment before Dumbledore spoke.

"Quite a few...interesting things have gone on in the past five minutes alone. First we need to make a few introductions to out new guest."

Dumbledore introduced Sephira to everyone, who all nodded their heads when their names were said. When Fred Weasley was introduce he said, "you should stop by at our joke shop in Diagon Alley sometime." Sephira only nodded, but in her head she said no.

"If you're a Black, then how come your name isn't on the Black family tree?" Ginny asked. Several others nodded their heads in agreement.

It was Tonks who answered, "Her mother, Alexa, an my mother were cousins. Alexa was adopted by Sirius' parents and because she was adopted her name wasn't put on the family tree, not being of pure Black blood."

"Oh," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Why go by the name of Black and not your fathers?"

Sephira cringed at that and inwardly swore. She didn't talk about her father very much. She knew who he was but she hadn't seen or heard form him in the past six years. She knew there would have been a question like this but it still hurt her. She didn't really know what to say or how to say it.

Hermione saw this inward struggle cross her face and immediately to her she didn't have to answer if she didn't want to. Relieved, Sephira drifted into unwanted memories of her father while Ron and Hermione argued. Her father was a headstrong and cold-hearted man to all except her and her mother. He held many dark secrets deep inside of him and Sephira had known it was slowly eating him up.

The last time she'd seen her father she was ten years old. He'd only visited for a day, so she'd made sure to spend that time with him. He seemed happy to be there, spending time with her. She'd demonstrated her knowledge about things she wouldn't learn until she was in school and he'd told her he was proud of her. Before he'd left that night he promised to come back and visit soon. He never did.

Sephira was brought out of her memories when Mrs. Weasley raised her voice at Dumbledore, "you mean you're just going to leave him there?"

Calmly Dumbledore answered, "Harry must stay there another week for the Blood Ward to be full rejuvenated for next year."

"What about sending someone there to stay with him for the week to make sure he's alright," Sephira suggested absent mindedly.

She was looked at in shocked silence. "What?"

"That was a good idea Miss. Black. Now we must figure out who to send," Dumbledore said. "Someone who can legally use magic," he added at Ron and Hermione's hopeful looks.

"As much as the rest of us would love to go, we all have jobs to do Albus. Who are you intending to send?" Mr. Weasley stated.

"I'll go," Sephira said immediately.

She was given a look that said she was stupid. "You can't Sephira, you're under age."

Sephira rolled her eyes, "I'm not under aged. In America, where I grew up, the legal age is 16, and since I'm 16 I've been give the legal right to use magic outside of school"

"I so wanna go to America!" Ron yelled.

Everyone couldn't help but laugh at him. When the laughter had died down, Dumbledore was looking at Sephira with a twinkle in his eye that made Sephira think he had some sort of semi-evil plan going on in his head.

"Thank-you for volunteering Sephira. You will be staying at the Dursley's at Number 4 Privet Drive but before you go, please stop by the school and get some potions you might need from Professor Snape in the dungeons."

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A/N: hope you liked it. R&R plz 


	2. Chapter 2

disclaimer: i dont own harry potter. if i did, you would be reading the story in book format.

**Chapter 2**

Harry came back form unconsciousness in his room, half on the bed, half off. His head was pounding and his arm felt fractured. He felt the dried blood on his face and had a feeling it looked worse the it ever had before.

He slowly sat up with some difficulty and looked out his window. The sun was rising, telling him he'd been unconscious all night. He didn't feel like actually standing, or doing anything else so he let his head fall back onto his pillow.

He was brought back out of a light sleep by yells coming from Uncle Vernon downstairs. Curious, Harry listened.

"You have no right walking in here demanding to see the boy. You can just turn you magical little self around and go back to where you came from," Uncle Vernon roared.

"A fat muggle like you has no authority over me. Now, tell me where Harry is," a female voice said calmly, but loudly.

"Nev- Ok! don't point that thing at me. He's up in his room, go find it."

Harry didn't hear a thank you, but he heard someone ascending the stairs and wondered if the witch that entered was someone he'd seen before but had never actually met. He heard the soft mutter of 'Alohomora' and the locks on the door click. He turned his head as the door handle turned and the door open.

In the doorway stood a young girl about his age standing upright and proud. She had shoulder length black hair, dark eyes and wore black jeans with a white t-shirt that had a sword with a snake wound around it. Harry was a bit startled by her dark look, but her soft smile calmed him somewhat.

The girl walked in and Harry saw that she was carrying a silver bag. She sat down on the side of the bed and looked over his wounds. He felt extremely embarrassed at the fact that she was seeing him like this, someone he didn't even know, and wished she would leave.

The girl, seemingly finished with her analysis, lifted her bag and set it on the bed to start rummaging through it. She pulled out a smaller, black bag and set the larger bag back down on the floor.

"Who are you?" Harry managed to ask.

The girl looked at him and her smile widened, "My name is Sephira. I wont tell you my last name yet because of the feelings it would be sure to arise but when you are ready I will tell you. You have one more week to live here and though that week I will also be here to make sure you don't get hurt anymore. It seems you uncle uses you as a punching bag."

"You could say that again," Harry said as Sephira opened the small black bag and pulled out two vials and a small round container.

"One of these potions will heal you broken arm, the other will dull the pain you are no doubly feeling and this container is filled with a salve that I will need to rub on your bruises. Now I know this seem awkward, since I'm a girl and you a guy, but you can hardly apply the salve by yourself so I will have no objections from you," she said sternly.

Harry nodded his head slightly as Sephira opened one of the vials and helped him gulp it down. She did the same with the second potion and explained what she was going to do with the salve.

"I know for a fact that you have bruises all along you body so I will need you to remove your shirt. When you are well enough, you can do the rest of your body, as that would be too awkward if I did the rest."

Harry smiled and with some aid, sat up and removed his shirt. He was beginning to really like Sephira and was hoping to get to know her better over the week.

"Tell me about yourself," he asked while she started applying the a salve.

Sephira sighed and Harry wondered if her life had been hard like his. "I'm sixteen like you, and I was raised in America. There, the legal age is sixteen which is why I'm allowed to use magic out of school.

"I was born here in England but when I was a few years old, my father sent my mother and I to America to live, where I rarely saw him. He came whenever he could, which was usually during the holidays and only stayed for a day or so. Six years ago he stopped coming."

Sephira fell silent and Harry felt sorry for her. He knew what it was like to lose a loved one, but to actually have that loved one stop coming by to see you must have been really hard. He thought back on his own life and compared his to hers. While he didn't have his parents, she had, but her father left. His godfather, the closest person to him had died and his aunt and uncle didn't care at all for him. They both had shitty lives, just in different ways.

"When I was eleven I received my letter of acceptance to Salem Academy and that year my mom too a full time job at the ministry. She'd only been working part time so she could spend some time with me, but since I would be going to school, she found she didn't need the free time," Sephira continued. "Life at school was far from easy. Every one who went to Salem already seemed to know each other had, had their friends so it was really hard for me to make any. The few friends that I did make were a few years older then me, but I didn't really care. They all graduated this year so I'm not sure what I'm going to do for the next two, although I think my mom's transferring me to Hogwarts."

Harry snorted and Sephira looked at him thoughtfully, finished applying the salve to his back, and she moved to sit in front of him. She created a bowl and filled it with warm water. Taking a cloth from her bag, she dipped it in the water, then began whipping the dried blood off his face. Harry tried to protest, but she reminded him of what she'd said earlier and he shut up.

"Your mom might not be making the best choice in transferring you to Hogwarts due to the many times Voldemort has either attacked it or tried to. And plus, our potions teacher is a cold-hearted bastard who hates me only because my father and his friends played cruel jokes on him," Harry said bitterly.

Sephira nodded and started rubbing salve on his chest, "yes, I know. I had the unfortunate privilege of meeting him before I came here because I had to get some potions from him. He doesn't seem that nice of a man."

They fell silent as Sephira finished applying the salve and told him to rest some more, "you're in no condition to do anything today," she said, and Harry had no choice but to obey and fall asleep.

The next few days went by smoothly for Harry. Since his Aunt Marge was staying for the week, Sephira had no choice but to sleep in his room, so she transfigured a chair into a mattress for herself to sleep on the floor.

None of the Dursleys said anything unkind to Harry at anytime, fearing what Sephira would do to them, but Aunt Marge had no problems with making rude comments about Harry or his parents. She also mentioned many times the problem with letting Sephira stay at all, let alone in Harry's room.

"I tell you Vernon, something's going to happen. You see it all the time with stray bitches." Sephira looked at Aunt Marge, wondering how she could be compared to a stray dog. "They stay at a place for a while, if there's a male around that is, have their fun, but don't leave. I tell you, a bitch can be extremely annoying when they're in heat. Usually they get pregnant and you're forced to take care of the pups!"

"Better that The Girl stays in His room then in Dudley's room," Uncle Vernon retorted.

Aunt Marge agreed to that. She caught Sephira listening to their conversation and glared nastily, "Go to the same school as the boy?"

Sephira knew that she thought Harry went to St. Brutus's, but she was going to pretend that Marge was talking about Hogwarts, "Will be. You should stop by one Saturday for the house sports game. Then I'll be able to see you piss your pants from shock and fright!"

Harry snorted and he and Sephira had left right away. Aunt Marge was still angry at Sephira words.

Harry found himself growing closer to Sephira and although she had a dark look, on the inside, she was extremely bright and fun.

At night they would walk around, talking about different things like school, subjects and anything else that interested them. The one thing Harry didn't talk about was Sirius Black, and Sephira accepted that.

Two days before Harry was to leave Privet Drive, and be gone for the rest of the year, started out normally enough. He woke at 6:00 to a rising sun and quietly did some homework while Sephira remained sleeping.

Around 7:30 Sephira woke up mumbling under breath and she quickly scanned some of the homework he'd done. They descended the stairs together, the house abnormally silent.

Harry entered the kitchen and found it empty. On the table Aunt Petunia had left a not and he read it out loud, "The four of us have gone an early morning trip before we have to take Aunt Marge home later today. Don't break anything!"

"Not like she'd know if we broke anything," Sephira mumbled and began rummaging around looking for things to cook with.

Harry shook his head in amusement. Sephira had been helping him cook whenever he'd been asked and she still seemed unable to find anything. Smiling he stopped her and gathered everything himself. He allowed her to help him cook, as she insisted and they made themselves bacon and eggs with some toast.

When Harry and Sephira finished eating, they went back up to his room where she tutored him in potions, her best subject. With Sephira's help, Harry was able to understand potion terms and understand what the potion properties of each of the potions they would be studying in their N.E.W.T. class. He was actually beginning to like the subject.

They day passes by with no sight from the Dursleys or any other person. Harry didn't really care that they were away, the less he saw of them they better he felt, but Sephira seemed a bit put off. She thought that they would surely call or something! When asked about why she was worrying she answered, "You had no knowledge of this before hand?" Harry nodded. "I find it odd that they just up and left without telling you sometime before."

"They never tell me anything," Harry had said off handedly. Sephira just shook her head in displeasure and continued tutoring him.

At about 7:00pm the Dursley's still hadn't returned that was when Harry started to get a little worried. "Think something happened to them?" he asked Sephira.

"I'm not sure," she answered thoughtfully. "Do you have a map of this town and surrounding area?"

Harry nodded and grabbed one out of the chest in the hallway. He watched curiously as she opened it and took out her wand. "I'm going to preform a wide range seek spell that will indicate on the map where they are if the map covers that area."

Harry nodded a little confused as Sephira muttered the incantation. A tiny red dot appeared on the map moving towards Little Winning, away from London. Harry was relived, but didn't say it. Sephira nodded satisfied and put the map away.

"What are we going to do about supper?" she asked suddenly.

Harry's stomach growled an answer and they burst out laughing. "We could order something, but I have no money," he suggested.

"No problem. I've got a lot of muggle money," Sephira said shrugging. "Would you like to order a pizza? I haven't had one of those in years."

Harry heartily agreed and over the phone, ordered a large pizza with the deluxe toppings and, at Sephira's insisting, garlic strips on the side. Twenty minutes later a young man a few years older then them delivered their pizza and Sephira payed him, giving him a tip.

Half way through supper the Dursley's arrived home and when Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen he blew up at Harry.

"Ordering pizza for supper are we? Where did you get the money? If I find you stole it form us there will be hell to pay, even if you have this thing," he pointed at Sephira, "guarding your sorry ass!"

"It was my money Dursley," Sephira said coldly pulling out her wallet and showing him the wad of cash she had. "And I do have a name and would greatly appreciate it if you use it. I assume you've had supper, and if you haven't, you're not invited to join."

"Don't tell us what we can and can't do in my house girl. This is my house, giving me the authority over every one under it," Vernon's face was beginning to turn purple.

Sephira stood up, enraged, "You have no authority over me! I may be a guest, but I do not take orders from the like's of you!"

"I don't care if you're a witch or not, the rules I lay- Argggg!" Uncle Vernon was unable to finish his sentence because an explosion rocked the house and Harry was knocked from his chair.

He pushed himself up and scrambled to the hallway as another explosion occurred.

"What the hell is going on!" Uncle Vernon roared as he went to gather and protect his family.

Harry didn't answer, he was too bent on getting to his room to retrieve his wand. He passed by Dudley and Aunt Petunia huddled in the middle of the hallway, looking around wildly. He absent mindedly told them to get out of the hall as he climbed the stairs.

Another explosion hit the house and he nearly fell backwards down the stairs. Underneath, the ground started to quiver and shake. Harry felt a weird sensation crawl through him, as though the magic around him was weakening under the pressure upon it. He pushed that feeling aside as he stumbled up the last few steps and into his room.

In her cage, Hedwig was hooting and screeching madly as the cage itself was being forcefully shaken off the desk it was on. Harry went to her and shakily freed her.

A fourth and extremely powerful explosion ripped through the house knocking Harry to the floor as well as other things. Hedwig managed to get out of her cage just before it fell on his head, causing Harry to groan. The ground was shaking so badly he was unable to stand, so he crawled to the bedside table and grabbed his wand of the top.

From downstairs she heard Aunt Petunia scream and a loud crash. The familiar pop of apparation sounded several times and all those who'd apparated let out yells of surprise.

Harry crawled out of his room, into the hallway just in time to see the stairs shift and crumble from the irregular movement of the ground. He heard some wizards curse profoundly and someone called his name.

"Up here!" he yelled over the noise of the creaking and crumbling house. He crawled to the edge of where the stairs use to be and looked down at the group of Order members struggling to stand, or stay standing. He saw Remus, seemingly unaffected by the quake, knees bent, smirking at his companions.

Remus looked up at him and called, "you shouldn't be up there Harry."

"Better then being down there and getting crushed by falling house," he yelled back in a smart-ass tone.

Remus shook his head and was about to answer when a scream from the kitchen, by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, caused him to turn his head. Over the screams Harry heard Sephira yell, "Portus Majorus!"

Under him, Harry felt the wood sag from his weight and he desperately tried to crawl back but before he could, the wood gave way and he was falling. "Levoisa!" someone yelled and he stopped falling right before he hit he ground. He was levitated to Remus's side as Sephira entered the hallway and another explosion rocked the house.

The feeling of wakening magic came back to Harry and this time he could not push it away. He felt the magic of the house become a thin, stretched out line and then snap, and disappear, as the final explosion came. Harry sickly realized that the explosions were meant to destroy the wards.

When the wards fell, the quake stopped and everyone was able to stand. They didn't, however, have time to ask how everyone was doing because the front door flew open and Death Eaters started filling in.

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**A/N:** please, please review. aside from the stats, i dont know whether or not you ready the story...and reviews tell me if you like the story! i'm desperate for reviews!


	3. Chapter 3

disclaimer: i dont own harry potter. if i did, i'd be rich!

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Chapter 3

Harry was dimly aware of everyone around his as fighting broke out and he was pulled away form the melee into the kitchen. He turned around and saw Sephira, here dark eyes hard and set to battle.

Harry heard the battle in the hall and wanted to help, but Sephira restrained him telling him he would be a distraction to the Order members if he was out there because they would have to always keep an eye on him. Harry half heartedly agreed to stay out of the fight and started to pace.

Sephira up ended the table and pushed it in front of the door to the hallway, then stood in the middle of the room, wand out, watching the entrances as well as Harry. She stood stock still, arms hanging stiffly by her side, dark eyes on full alert.

Harry didn't care much for what Sephira was doing, he just wanted to help the Order members fight the Death Eaters. He knew he should be helping, it was his home they were invading, even if he didn't want to call this place home.

There was a triumphant cry from the hallway and the door was blasted wide open, the table sent flying at them. Sephira muttered a blast spell and the table blew apart in many pieces.

Two Death Eaters walked in and stood side by side, wands raised facing Harry and Sephira, who both had their wands out, ready to fight.

"An interesting duo to fight," Lucius Malfoy's cold voice said. He was standing to the left, facing Sephira.

"I have little Potter," the other Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange said gleefully.

"Don't kill him Bella," Lucius warned.

"She's not going to do anything to me," Harry snarled. "I'm gonna kill her for killing Sirius!"

Sephira stiffened and Bellatrix and Lucius laughed. "You don't have the power to kill me Potter."

"Wanna bet! Incendio!"

Flames shot out of Harry's wand and hit Bellatrix in the chest. She let out a surprised yelp and started to duel fiercely with him. Harry's only goal was to give this witch what she deserved.

Sephira looked into the grey eyes of the Death Eater in front of her, taking no notice of Harry and the other Death Eater, hoping Harry could fight for himself.

She'd almost lost her emotions when Harry had said that Bellatrix had killed her uncle, but she'd regained her composure and calmed herself. Sephira let everything around her except the Death Eater facing her fade away into nothingness and she concentrated on the task ahead of her.

The Death Eater looked at Harry and Bellatrix fighting then back at Sephira, studying her posture and face. Behind the mast he frowned.

"Do you really think you can defeat me girl?" he drawled.

Sephira smirked, "it's possible. Whether or not I do is depended on how well the both of us fight."

Sephira glared at the Death Eater but did nothing else, waiting for him to attack first.

"I can see from the way wait that you must have considerable power. Why waste you power protecting Potter and the losing side of this war when you can serve a higher power?" Lucius asked.

Sephira frowned. She wasn't expecting a question, let alone one like that, but an attack. She was at loath to say it, but he'd raised questions within herself.

Lucius took her hesitation as doubt, "you don't know? Do you know what we Death Eaters fight for and what the Dark Lord grants to us?"

Sephira shook her head.

"Muggles are expanding and will one day find out about us, then try and wipe us out or over run us. We fight to stop this, to stop the pure wizards from dying off.

"The Dark Lord punishes us when we fail, but those punishments make us strive to become better and more powerful. He punishes us to make us better then we already are."

"I understand what you say, but you have one fault," Sephira said. Lucius crossed his arms and the both stepped back to let Harry's and Bellatrix's battle pass between them into the living room. Harry looked at Sephira, then Lucius and back to her, betrayal in his eyes. They exited the kitchen, leaving Sephira and Lucius alone.

A/N: next one will be up shortly depending on how many reviews i get...is it hard to give reviews?...i did get one though so it makes me happy! chocolate frog to Janara!


	4. Chapter 4

disclaimer: i dont own harry potter, if i did i'd be rich :)

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**Chapter 4**

"If you're fighting for the good of the wizarding world, then why is your Lord the 'Dark' Lord? You say your intentions are good, but you use dark ways to achieve what you want," Sephira took an upturned chair, set it right and sat on it. She leaned back and peered at Lucius.

There was a yell from behind Lucius who turned around and closed the hallway door, sealing it with dark magic. He turned back around and leaned back on the edge of the door post.

"We are 'Dark' because the world has labeled us Dark along with the magic we use. We use powerful magic, so powerful only those who can control it can wield it. So powerful that the Ministry has outlawed it. The Ministry doesn't like our magic so they call it dark. They use it too, when they have the means because they don't like anyone more powerful then them."

Sephira nodded, understanding everything he was saying. It was true, the Ministry didn't like these things, she'd seen it first hand. She'd been with her mother to work at he American Ministry of Magic one day and while wandering around she came across three Aurors escorting a man to see the minister. She followed, curiously and heard the Minister telling the man that anyone more powerful then the Ministry was a threat and must be dealt with.

"Sephira!" Harry yelled from the living room . There was a loud crash and then silence.

"Would you like to become one of us?" Lucius ask as though nothing had happened.

"Can I think on that?" she asked standing up.

Lucius nodded straightening himself, "Show me your power Sephira, the hate you have for this world."

"Fracta!" A stream of yellow shot our of Sephira's wand which Lucius dodged. Their battle had commenced and they both sent powerful curses at each other, both dodging or setting up shields in defense. Sephira found it easy to battle with the darkness inside her, there was a little thrill in it also.

Sephira didn't really care for the outcome, just as long as Lucius didn't kill her, but she didn't really think he would.

"Iuguolo!" Lucius cried bringing his wand up in a cutting motion. Sephira's eyes widened in shock as black sparks shot towards her. She glanced into Lucius's grey eyes and saw that he hoped she would be able to block the curse.

Time seemed to slow for her as she searched her memory for a shield strong enough to counter the dark curse. One came to mind, but it was a shield she'd never use, or even tried to use before.

The dark curse neared her and Sephira made up her mind. She threw up the shield yelling, "Elementos!"

A powerful blue, purple, yellow and red shield surrounded Sephira. The curse hit the shield, two strong powers battling each other, creating a small magical explosion sending Sephira crashing through the wall behind her.

Sephira's head hit glass and was cut open. Blood slowly oozed out, but she didn't care all that much.

Lucius entered the living room and looked down at her fallen for. In his eyes there was pride and Sephira thought her choice over again. Her father had always been proud of her, but when he'd left, there was no one. Her mother rarely paid attention to her, work stressing her out, and the teachers at school all seemed to shun her.She felt lostat home.It wasn't really a home, more of a place just to liveSeeing pride in the Death Eater's eyes overpowered what little doubt she'd had in her about accepting his offer.

"I've made my choice," she croaked out.

Lucius walked over to her and cocked his head to the side. Sephira made to sit up, but the pain in her back and head forced her to stay still and groan.

"I forsake what I'd originally planed to protect."

"Then you shall become my...prisoner," Lucius said thoughtfully.

He put his wand away, bent down and picked Sephira up in both his arms. He walked around the living too and Sephira could see the damage harry and Bellatrix had done. The couch had several holes, the coffee table was missing a leg and cracked in the middle, the TV was blown up and the window what shattered, among other things.

Lucius walked into the hallway where several Death Eaters lay unconscious or stunned, some bleeding form wounds. There were one or two Order members out cold as well. He walked out he doorway, the door having been blown off it's hinges, into the cool night, stars shining above.

"You do realize that I'm supposedly on the Light side and that I will have to make some sort of attempt to save Harry?" Sephira whispered, looking at he scene in front of her.

Several Order and Ministry members stood near the road, wands all trained at Bellatrix and another Death Eater holding a bound and disarmed Harry.

"What are you going to do, and hide you wand!" Lucius hissed.

Sephira discreetly did so and hissed back, "do you like hide and seek?"

Lucius gave her a withering glare as Remus said, "Let him go Bellatrix!"

Bellatrix let a shrill laugh and Sephira whispered to Lucius, "I'm going to teleport Harry, using up the last of my energy and send him who know's where. Not even I will know so you will have to play hide and seek with him."

"What fun," Lucius grumbled. "But do so when I give the word."

Sephira met Lucius's eyes, determination in her own. She was ready to do whatever needed to be done to hide her true colours until the time was right.

"Come and get you cub little wolf," Bellatrix spat. "Let's get out-a here ya bastards!" she yelled to her companions.

Sephira felt Lucius stiffen and stifled a laugh. She heard him whisper "Now," and she raised her hand towards Harry, muttering under her breath, "Portus Majorus!"

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A/N: R&R plz. thanx to you who reveiwed for the previous chapter!...I'll update at the start of next week.


	5. Chapter 5

disclaimer: i dont own harry potter...if i did...HBP would be slightly different

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**Chapter 5**

Three pairs of slitted red eyes peered through the dense foliage of their home. They were on their morning hunt, looking for food in a group, which was unnatural for their kind. Another thing uncommon for their kind was that they were awake in the day light. They were on the outer rim of a clearing, looking at a creature they'd rarely seen, trying to figure our whether or not it would be tasty enough to eat.

"**_It looks small for a human boy,_**" the female of the group said.

"**_Easier to eat!_**" her youngest brother joked but he knew they needed larger, fatter prey to satisfy all three of them.

"**_Think he's edible?_**"

"**_We need the food so let's eat him!_**" their brother, usually the quiet one exclaimed.

He silently slithered out of his hiding place, brother and sister following at a slightly slower pace. They surrounded the human boy.

"**He's skin and bones! We wont get much food off him,**" the youngest said sorrowfully.

The human stirred and groaned. The three siblings moved back an inch and watched. The boy rolled onto his back and opened his eyes. Almost as if he sensed someone was watching him he sat up and his eyes grew wide.

Harry Potter quickly sat up, sensing eyes on him, and his eyes widened in shock. Surrounding him were three large snakes. The snake in front of him was banded black and gold, and was the largest of the three. To his right the second largest snake was banded red and black and to his left the snake, at least four feet long was banded green and black. They were looking at him, hunger in their eyes and he knew that if he didn't say something he would become their food.

"**_Hello,_**" he said tentatively.

All three snakes hissed in surprise and moved closer to him.

"**_He talked!_**" the snake on his right exclaimed.

"**_Of course he talked, he's a human,_**" the snake in front of him, a female, said, whom Harry assumed was their leader or in charge.

"**_But he spoke our language!_**" the third snake almost yelled, trying to get the point across.

"**_I can understand you, you know,_**" he said a bit peeved at being talked about like he wasn't there. He was use to it, living with the Dursleys, but he hadn't expected snakes to leave him out also.

"**_Of course you can boy,_**" the female hissed. "**_Thing is, how can you understand us?_**"

Harry smiled smugly. He didn't like talking much about his ability to talk to snakes, but since they were snakes, he guessed he really should. It couldn't hurt.

"**_When I was a baby, a dark wizard cursed me, but it backfired. One of the effects was Parsletongue, the ability to talk to snakes._**"

"**_Dark wizard?_**" the left snake asked unbelievingly. "**_We snakes know that magic is real but we have a hard time believing it. We've never seen it so how can we?_**"

"**_If I had my wand I'd show you,_**" Harry said, hoping that they would at least tell him where he was.

It all seemed too unreal for Harry. He was in some kind of forest in the middle of who knows where, talking to snakes, who talked like the Weasley siblings did to each other, but with a little less respect, especially the female for the snake on his left.

He remembered the Death Eater attack on his house, Sephira's seemingly betrayal, though he couldn't be sure about it, and being somehow transported to this place. _Who transported him here? Remus? Another Order member?_

Last night when Harry was teleported, he'd ended up in a tree, slung over a branch. He was high up and was about to start moving down when the branch started to crack. Scared, he tried to move to the thicker part of the branch, but it broke before he moved even an inch. All he remembered was falling, before hitting his head and blacking out.

"**_Come on, we must go,_**"the female snaked said. "**_My name is Azra, the snaked to your right is my brother Sith and the one to your right is, unfortunately, my youngest brother Clyptos._**"

"**_I'm not unfortunate, just abnormally crazy,_**" Clyptos defended.

_Definitely like the Weasleys. Just, not as many. _

Harry introduced himself and stood. He wobbled for a moment, his head becoming a bit light. For a second he thought he would faint, but the lightness left him and he was able to stand straight.

As silently as he could, he followed the three snakes as they led him through the trees, looking around wildly.

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"Do you know her full name?" a woman asked.

"I only caught her fist name," a male voice answered. His voice seemed familiar.

A chair scraped across the floor and the woman sighed in annoyance.

"What?" the man asked suspiciously.

"You meet this girl yesterday on your raid, believe she wants to become a Death Eater so you bring her hear and you didn't even find out her name?" she was easily peeved.

"She's powerful Narci, she blocked the Iuguolo curse. On our side she will work wonders that others her age cant."

"Her trust can not be fully guaranteed!"

"You didn't see her eyes when she said she wished to join. She will be very trust worthy," he reasoned.

"The Dark Lord will fry your ass for this," Narci huffed.

"He already knows. She will come to her first meeting when the other sixth years come," the man said proudly.

"I don't like this Lucius."

Sephira groaned, realizing was she was hearing, and who they were talking about. She opened her eyes to see that she was in a large study, lying on a couch. Dark artifacts lined the wall on bookshelves, with only a few books present.

"Awake?" Lucius asked.

Sephira turned her head towards his voice and was barely able to hide her surprise at his features, a lot better looking then she thought. He had long blond hair surrounding a hansom but pale face. He was wearing fine black robes, sitting casually on a cushioned chair with a snake-headed cane lying across his lap.

Across from him a pale faced woman with loosely tied back long blond hair sat rigidly, cold blue eyes staring at her with dislike. He mouth was pressed firmly together in a thin line like she wanted to say some sort of rude comment.

Sephira shot an intense glare back at her, "you don't know me, so don't judge me."

Lucius smirked but Narci became colder.

"What's your full name?"

"Sephira Black."

Narci, if possible, sat even more rigid and looked at her for a few minutes, studying her face. Sephira kept it impassive, like it always was when she met new people. Narci relaxed a bit before asking her next question.

"How's your mother, I haven't seen her in a long time?"

Lucius looked at his wife, totally flabbergasted. First she hates the girl, now she's asking how her mother is! _What the hell did I miss?_

"As good as can be expected after my father deserted us. We live in America right now. I went to Salem Academy but I believe mom transferred me to Hogwarts."

Lucius shook his head in frustration. "What the hell is going on?"

Narci glared at her husband for the language, "Sephira's mother Alexa was my cousin. She was a whole lot better then Sirius and Regulus. I believe she would have been in Slytherin but she feared her brother would hate her if she was. Good person, but not someone dark enough to be on our side. We got along extremely well considering she wasn't blood related."

"And you didn't tell me about her because?" Lucius's voice lowered a bit in danger.

Narci shrugged, "why would you want to know about an adopted cousin?"

Lucius sighed, rolled his eyes and muttered dryly, "seems the Black family doesn't tell much."

Sephira smirked and her stomach growled. Lucius immediately summed a house elf, whose name was Twiggy and ordered her to make some breakfast. While waiting, Sephira did some quick thinking. Her mother had told her about her cousins, so Narci had to be short for Narcissa. She was also told that Narcissa's husband's name was Malfoy, so she assumed Malfoy was their last name.

Twiggy came back with her breakfast and set it on the table in front of her. She left without giving anything to the Malfoys.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Sephira asked sitting up.

Lucius smiled at her and shook his head, "we've already eaten, earlier this morning."

Sephira nodded and started eating. She felt a bit embarrassed, having them watch her eat, and felt as if she was being judged. An object on the table caught her eye and she studied it indiscreetly. It was an orb, with a phoenix and a snake inside it, battling. The phoenix had fire behind it, the snake black ice. The phoenix fire filled a slightly larger portion of the orb.

From above there was a crash, which made Narcissa growl and someone swore violently. Lucius frowned and stood. He walked out the room leaving a bewildered Sephira and a very angry wife.

"What was that?" Sephira asked but Narcissa was too angry to hear her, so she continued eating and studying the orb more closely.

The phoenix fire flared for a moment and advanced a bit on the snake ice, causing her to frown. _What causes this to happen?_ When she was finished with her food, Twiggy appeared and asked her if she would like more. Sephira said no and the house elf disappeared, taking the plate and utensils as well.

She was about to continue studying the orb when Lucius came back in, a teenaged boy following. He looked like a younger version of Lucius, blond hair, although shorted, grey eyes and a hansom face. He looked at Sephira watching him and sneered. Lucius sat on the chair he'd vacated and the boy sat on the other end of the couch.

"I've already given him hell Narci and repaired it. You can calm down now," he said soothingly to his wife.

The boy grumbled something causing everyone to look at him. Sephira saw embarrassment and humiliation in his features. His face was like an open book.

Lucius was about to say something, but Sephira spoke first, not knowing he wished to speak, "your emotions show too clearly. With clear showing emotions, you wont be able to lie to anyone, no matter the importance."

The boy glared at her and his hand moved to his wand. Lucius cleared his throat and agreed with Sephira. The boy gasped softly, causing Sephira to roll her eyes. Lucius caught this and chuckled, which made the boy's eyes become as wide as saucers.

"Sephira this is my son Draco. Draco, this is our guest, Sephira Black, who will be staying here for the rest of the summer."

Draco looked her in the eyes. "Black?"

"Black," Sephira confirmed and offered her hand. Draco took it. None caught the sly smile on Lucius's face.

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A/N: sorry for the long update...HBP made me depressed for a time but i've gotten over it and i'm going to continue this my own way...it will not follow the lines of HBP but i'll use some of the spells. ...Review please...i really love reviews!


	6. Chapter 6

So...It's been a long time since I last updated. I lost motivation, I had few reviews and not even my best friend reads this story(though she says she'll get around to it). It will be a while however, before I get back into the swing of things with this story because I have so many others flowing around in my head.

I don't own Harry Potter, never will.

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Chapter Six: Kek

In the week that Harry had spent with Azra, Sith and Clyptos, he'd been brutally introduced to a world he didn't fully understand and like. He knew a bit about the Animal Kingdom, having learned some things in Elementary School when he was young, but muggle schools, and at times wizarding schools taught only the glamourous things about the outside world.

Most of the time the four would spend the day walking around the forest and talking, or for Clyptos, eating as much as he could. Azra pointed out landmarks to him to aid him in finding his way around the area of the forest they lived in and tried to help him as best as she could. Harry ate mostly berries or any sort of edible plants he knew wouldn't kill him, while the three reptiles ate small rodents and sometimes larger animals if they ganged up.

He was never without danger. Large predators prowled around the forest, looking for their own meals and Harry had to be especially careful at all times so as not to be caught off guard and eaten.

He hadn't desperately tried to find a human village, he like his new friends a lot, but the knowledge that people were trying to find him was always in the back of his mind. He knew Ron and Hermione were probably worried sick about him, and that Mrs. Weasley was most likely crying her eyes out, but for now he felt safe, and finally free.

For the first time ever, Harry felt the freedom to do what ever he wanted. No homework, no chores, no teachers telling him what to do, and no Dumbledore trying to make him save the world. He also had no damned Voldemort induced dreams or dreams of Sirius falling through the Veil, and his scar never hurt.

He learned to move silently and with ease through the forest, and to climb the trees if he needed to. His clothes, already a dismal oversized mess had become torn and frayed in his self teaching, and he came to the conclusion that he looked like some sort of a cave man. He didn't mind that much, but he was sure people would come to the wrong conclusion about him if they saw him.

His birthday had come and gone, and he didn't bother to tell his new friends. He doubted they even knew what his birthday meant, or if they did, he feared what kind of a present they would give him. He was unsure how well they understood humans and their cultures.

At the north end of the forest, there started another forest which called to Harry magically. It was an eerie forest, with silver trunks with leaves as green as his eyes. The snakes feared it, calling it evil, purposefully avoiding any conversation about it, or even walking to it. They called it Kek, because in Egyptian mythology one of the deities of darkness was named Kek. Harry also learned that all of the animals feared it, giving it their own names of darkness. Harry would soon learn that it was dark in it's own ways, but for now, he was curious.

"_For the last time Harry, we don't like talking about the damn place!"_ Azra said exasperated.

"_But why? What's in there that makes you fear it so much?"_ he asked desperately. The first time he'd walked to it's edge he'd been practically dragged away.

"_We saw an acquaintance of ours go in there. She came out like the wind and died soon after. He body was so scared that I was surprised she was even able to move,"_ Sith explained.

Clyptos let out a hiss of glee and slithered off at top speed. Harry froze, assuming his friend had found some prey so he wouldn't scare it away. Sith hissed in annoyance and muttered something about bottomless pits for stomachs. Azra shook her head as they waited a few minutes before Clyptos returned, mumbling about how nicely the rodent was digested. Harry shivered, a bit disgusted by his companion's words.

"_Has anyone else ever entered it?"_ he asked.

The three snakes hissed in annoyance. _"Stop talking about it!"_ Azra hissed evilly.

Harry did, realizing that Azra or Sith would probably bite him if he didn't and continued walking around the forest with them following. He wasn't even sure what kind of snakes the siblings were and whether or not their venom was poisonous. He couldn't however, get Kek out of his mind. It was a strange part of the forest, that much he'd obviously seen due to it's colours and magical feel.

It was beginning to dawn on Harry that if the Order wasn't able to find him, then neither could Voldemort, and that they were at heads trying to find him. What surprised him thought was that he really didn't care. Let them battle it out, for now he was going to live in peace and explore Kek. But only if he worked up the courage.

"_Why is it that you always lead us here when walking?"_ Sith asked angered.

Harry was brought out of his musings and his eyes focused, only to see the edge of Kek. He shrugged helplessly in answer. He figured it had something to do with the magical pull he felt coming off it, but it was weird because magic didn't attract him. He wished Hermione or someone else was around to explain things to him.

"_Lets go Harry!"_ Clyptos demanded, a scared tone in his voice.

Harry turned to go when he felt a magical blanket envelope him, calling him into the forest with a soft feminine melodious voice. She sang a whispered song into his ear, a song about the beauty of her forest. It was a beautiful song, one Harry found attracting, and mind filling.

He turned back to look at Kek, hesitating a moment before walking in at a fast pace. He didn't even hear his friends hiss in protest and follow him, trying to stop him. Harry didn't hear anything, except her voice.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Azra tried hard not to think about what would happen to them, following Harry into such a spooky place. She knew half the things said by all the snakes were probably a lie but that didn't make this place any more inviting.

For her, sometimes being the oldest of the family had it's perks, but when she had to make a decision between saving her own skin and helping Harry it had been the worst few seconds of her life. Kek scared her to no ends, ever though she wasn't that open about it. She said it freaked her out, but that was only half the truth. Had it been any other person walking into Kek, she would have left him or her on their own, but she'd grown a liking for the dark haired, green eyed boy so the only thing she could do was go in after him.

Upon entering Kek she immediately felt strange. Something tickled down the whole length of her back, something she didn't recognize, followed by something she did: fear. Thoughts about turning back entered her mind, but how could she let the boy go deeper into his doom?

Azra, along with her brothers who'd also decided to follow called Harry's name many times but he appeared no to hear them.

She looked at her brothers for a moment wondering if she really had the power to make their choices, or if they'd decided to follow Harry on their own accord. They both, on several previous occasions had told her she need to think about all of them before making decisions. This time she hadn't even thought about them, so was this their choice? Clyptos, while loyal to them, was a chicken shit in the face of danger. Sith was someone who thought over things throughly before talking action, weighing the pros and cons and it's over all effect.

Were they following Harry for the same reasons she was? Did the boy create a foundation of liking and loyalty in them like he had in her? How could he not have, he was a kind hearted boy who had a knowledge in him a boy his age shouldn't. He was not carefree like other boys his age, and he was certainly polite and considerate. Like a snake he was.

They were quite deep in the forest when Harry finally stopped walking. He stood stock still, staring ahead with absent mesmerized eyes.

"_Let's go back Harry!"_ Sith demanded, slithering around to face him.

The leaves on the ground around where Harry stood started to rustle as a wind picked them up and carried them like a cyclone around the boy. The trees rustled and moved, making an eerie noise.

"_Harry, let's go,"_ Clyptos said desperately, looking around wildly, as if something was going to pop up from nowhere.

Azra couldn't help but feel the same. The wind surrounding Harry was unnatural, and concentrated solely on him. The moving trees didn't help ease her fears at all, and she realized that Kek was a magical forest. If this was magic, then she did not like it at all.

The trees made another eerie sound and their branches bend down, creating a leafy barrier. Azra and her brothers might have been able to get out, but Harry didn't stand a chance in doing such a thing.

After a few moments, the trees to the front of Harry moved their branches slightly to allow passage to a brown skinned woman with long wavy hair as green as the leaves. She wore a green sleeveless shirt that matched her hair and a long, flowing silver skirt. From what Azra knew of humans, she assumed this woman would be considered very beautiful among her own, but she was also frightening. Her eyes were inhuman, red and yellow mixed together in an evil sort of way and as she walked, vines, plants and other rooted things sprung up and wound themselves around her, but she forced them back with a wave of her hand. The opening in the trees closed, blocking the only passage out.

She walked up to Harry, Sith slithering away terrified, curling beside Azra and watched as the woman spoke softly into Harry's ear. Azra bristled in anger, this woman was the reason Harry had walked into Kek! She had used her magic to draw him to her, but for what purpose she didn't know. She was to find that out soon.

Vines serged forth from their place near the woman at the flick of her hand and constricted themselves around Harry, who was unable to fight back.

"_Harry, fight back!"_ Azra yelled and shot to him, travelling up a vine to his ear. She desperately hissed in his ear telling him to snap out of whatever he was under. Sith and Clyptos circled Harry's legs, aiding Azra in her failing attempts.

The vines tightened once they had fully wound themselves around Harry. They closed in on Harry's neck and Azra thought for sure he would die, when the trees moaned and shifted open to reveal a tall man dressed in black, holding a strange object.

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Review please. It really boosts my motivation 


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